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Guest Capt. Joe Ward

OFFSHORE - I am going to start off with the offshore bite this week. DOLPHIN, DOLPHIN & DOLPHIN! Last Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday the dolphin bite was red hot. We had them coming into the docks by the boat loads. Most of the boats had at least 10 and some had as many as 18. Most of the fish were in the 20 to 30 pound range with a good number being in the 35 to 42 pound range. Most of the fish were caught between 160 and 280 feet of water -- depending on the day you fished. Some boats ran out to 600 feet and got nothing but did pick up dolphin on their way back in. Almost all the dolphin were caught on ballyhoo with one boat. reporting that they used live bait. The kingfish bite has been good in 50 to 70 feet of water when using live baits. There were some caught on a rigged ribbonfish. Most of the fish were in the 20 and 30 pound range. The cobia are here but not many are being caught. We had one angler tell us that all he saw were small ones and we did have one about 25 pounds come to the dock. We also had a few small wahoo, a couple of amberjacks and a few sea bass. This week has been about the same except for Monday when no dolphin came in. We did have a few snapper and grouper come in during the week. The offshore snapper bite will improve with the full moon. Several boats reported hooking up and or seeing a few blue marlins offshore over the weekend.

INSHORE - The inshore bite this week has been good if you went out early before the afternoon winds started blowing. The trout bite has been about the best thing going when you were using a live white bait. The trout have been on the flats in 2 to 5 feet of water and feeding early in the morning. Most of the fish we caught this week were in the 3 to 6 pound range. The redfish bite as been good if you took the time to find the schools. A piece of cut bait or a gold spoon has been the way to go. The snook bite in the Ft. Pierce Inlet and around the bridges has been steady when fishing a live bait on the bottom. The snapper bite has improved this week with fish to 1&1/2 pounds being reported. Several fish over the slot were reported on Monday and they came from the Inlet. There is still a mix of bluefish, spanish mackerel, jacks and ladyfish to keep you busy.

TEEN ANGLERS - The Treasure Coast Chapter of Teen Anglers held their fish off for Teen Angler of the Year on Sunday -- May 3rd. Shane Surrency took home the honors with 55 points for that day. He was followed by Justin Roe with 50 points and Justin was the only Teen Angler to bring back a snook to weigh in all year. There was a 3-way tie for 3rd place between Helen Kinchen, Branson Troska and Pierce Hosteler. Pierce took the 3rd place trophy with his 3lb. 4oz. black drum. Biggest fish trophy went to Justin Roe for his 6lb. 15oz. snook.

JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - Last Saturday -- May 2nd was the end of the school year tournament for the Junior Teen Anglers. They were awarded trophies, bait buckets, dip nets, inshore fishing trips, books, and t-shirts for everyone.

In the 5 to 8 age group

1st place - Taylor Roop - F. K. Sweet - Ft. Pierce

2nd place - Andrew Evans - Fairlawn Elem. - Ft. Pierce

3rd place - Savannah Ward - Bright Promises - Vero Beach

In the 9 to 11 age group

1 place - Thomas Roop - F. K. Sweet - Ft. Pierce

2nd place - D.J. Markowski - Lakewood Park Elem. - Ft. Pierce

3rd place - Jeffrey Garrett - Olso Middle - Vero Beach

Biggest fish of the tournament went to Mikey Hazellief for his 2lb. 9oz. bluefish.

BRAGGING BOARD - On Thursday JP Clark & Jim Bell were out on the "B" with Capt. Al Bernetti. They caught 3 dolphin and a 25 pound cobia. They just missed a big sailfish. They were using ballyhoo. On Saturday David Causey, Ken Birkhofer & Gary Miller had an excellent day of fishing and they brought back numerous dolphin. The biggest one was 32 pounds and caught between 180 and 220 feet of water on ballyhoo. On Sunday Rob Ward & Jay Sizemore were out and caught a mix of fish with a 48.25 kingfish being the biggest one. They were using live baits. On Wednesday I had Dr. Lyman and Dr.'s Canfield & Canfield on the boat. They caught a few nice trout and a mix of other fish. The biggest trout was 3 & 1/2 pounds.